LIVE: Simon Harris elected Taoiseach but Cork TD calls for 'radical change'

2:15pm

Simon Harris was applauded as he exited Leinster House following a vote to nominate him as Taoiseach.

Outside Leinster House in Dublin, Mr Harris was cheered on as he hugged Fine Gael colleagues and shook their hands.

He was congratulated as he briefly interacted with the gathered crowd outside.

Mr Harris then left under police escort to meet the Irish president Michael D Higgins at his official residence.

At the appointment ceremony, President Michael D Higgins signed the Warrant of Appointment and handed the Seal of the Taoiseach and the Seal of Government to Simon Harris.

The President and Taoiseach then posed for photographs for waiting media.

1:35pm

Ireland’s next leader Simon Harris has described his election as Taoiseach as a “very special day”.

He paid tribute to predecessor Leo Varadkar in a speech to the Dáil, saying the history books “will absolutely record the incredible service that he did for our country in dealing with some of the biggest challenges of our time, most notably Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic”.

Mr Harris said history will also record that Mr Varadkar was a “trailblazer as we broke free from some of the worst prejudices of our past and showing Ireland at its best to the world”.

The Fine Gael leader went on to thank his family for their support.

“Today is indeed a very special day for me,” he said.

“When I started campaigning on issues close to my heart and got involved in politics, I chose this life but my family did not and they’ve been very patient and through every step of the journey they have supported me without question.”

Simon Harris said he accepts the role of Taoiseach “with humility”, adding he will lead the partnership Government “in a spirit of unity, collaboration, and mutual respect”.

“Today I accept this new role in a spirit of humility, ready for the challenge, and full of energy and determination about what can be achieved,” he said.

“As Taoiseach I want to bring new ideas, a new energy, and a new empathy to public life, but politics is not about the office-holder. This is not about me; it’s about all of us working together to serve the people.

“We as a people, we as a country have, over the last 100 years, worked tirelessly together to create our own future.

“Collectively, this country can and should be proud of the progress it has made.” 

Mr Harris said he recognised that housing remains the greatest societal and economic challenge of our generation”, and pledged a focus on “moving mountains to help build more homes and drive more home ownership”.

He also voiced commitments around the delivery of Sláintecare, of mental health services, care for older people and reform for people with disabilities.

1:20pm

TDs have voted 88 to 69 in support of the nomination of Fine Gael leader Simon Harris as the country’s new Taoiseach.

Simon Harris will now travel to the official residence of the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, where his appointment as the country’s youngest-ever Taoiseach will be confirmed.

The President will sign the Warrant of Appointment and hand the Seal of the Taoiseach and the Seal of Government to Mr Harris at a ceremony at Áras an Uachtaráin in Dublin’s Phoenix Park.

The 37-year-old father-of-two will become Ireland’s 15th Taoiseach, after the surprise resignation of Leo Varadkar as Fine Gael leader three weeks ago.

Mr Varadkar formally resigned at an audience with President Higgins on Monday evening, paving the way for Mr Harris’s election today.

The Wicklow TD’s wife Caoimhe and young children Saoirse and Cillian were in the public gallery of the Dáil parliament for the historic proceedings, with his parents and brother and sister.

12:50pm

Independent politician Michael Healy-Rae has been suggested as an alternative nominee for Taoiseach.

Danny Healy-Rae, also an independent TD for Kerry, told the Dáil that he was was nominating his brother, while Mattie McGrath, another TD in the rural independent group, said he was seconding the proposal.

12:49pm

People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Mick Barry referenced the theme music chosen by Simon Harris for his leader’s speech at the Fine Gael ard fheis at the weekend – Bachman–Turner Overdrive’s 1974 song You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.

“It’s a great song, but I can think of one or two other tunes from that decade that might be more appropriate,” Mr Barry said.

“For example, I can think of The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again from 1971 – it might sum up of the mood of the electorate a little better, and it does have the closing lyric: Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”

12:36pm

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said retaining the same government cannot deliver the change needed in Ireland.

She said on a personal note, she wished incoming Taoiseach Simon Harris well, but said a new government was also needed.

“We are facing serious challenges as a country, and in order to address them we need new ideas. For that we need a new government, so today the Social Democrats will not be supporting his nomination,” she told TDs.

Ms Cairns said “radical change” is needed to tackle crises in housing, health care, disability services, child care and climate action.

“The change that we need cannot be delivered by a Taoiseach from the same party, with the same programme for government and the same policies,” she added.

“The issues we face and will continue to face will worsen until we elect a government with a fundamentally new approach.”

11:55am

Mary Lou McDonald has said the Government is trying to present a narrative that “dresses up failure as progress” as it moves to appoint Simon Harris as Taoiseach.

The Sinn Féin leader said: “The narrative we hear today from Government is a fairy tale so egregious that Hans Christian Andersen himself would be proud of it.” 

She added: “It’s your century-old cosy club, circling the wagons once again to cling to power at all costs.

“I believe that people of Ireland deserve so much better.” 

Ms McDonald said the Government should instead call a general election.

“If you really believe that your Government has the support of the people, then you should go before the people and get that mandate.”

She repeated her call for a general election as she criticised Fine Gael leader Simon Harris.

She said: “Another Fine Gael Taoiseach is the last thing the people need. We need a change of leadership, we need a change of government.” 

Discussing Mr Harris’s record in office before the vote to nominate him as the next Taoiseach, Ms McDonald said: “Not so long ago Simon Harris was the minister for health and on his watch hospital overcrowding spun out of control, the trolley crisis escalated and the treatment waiting list hit one million patients for the very first time.” 

She said that the “scandalous cost” of the National Children’s Hospital also grew, and that a promise Mr Harris made on child scoliosis waiting lists had been “disgracefully broken again and again”.

Ms McDonald added: 

“Fianna Fáil refused to vote confidence in Simon Harris as minister for health in 2020 – it caused an election, if you all recall. Today, they dutifully line up to vote him in as Taoiseach, joined at the hip by a group of independent TDs.

“Now out there in the real world, the experience is that if you fail and fail again, you get your P45. However, in the world of this Government – Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Greens – it seems you can fail your way right to the very, very top.”

11:50am

Green Party leader and coalition partner Eamon Ryan has said he is committed to continuing that deal until the end of the mandate, despite calls in the Dáil for a general election following the resignation of Leo Varadkar.

He congratulated incoming Taoiseach Simon Harris and also paid tribute to Leo Varadkar, particularly for his handling of Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Ryan insisted partnership works for Ireland, and said they are committed to the coalition government for the remaining 10 months of the mandate.

“I hear others saying we have to have an election now: I fundamentally disagree because there is work to be done that we can deliver,” he said.

11:35am

The Tánaiste has paid tribute to former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

Micheál Martin’s Fianna Fáil party entered into a coalition government with Mr Varadkar’s Fine Gael party and Eamon Ryan’s Green party in 2020.

Speaking in the Dáil this morning, Mr Martin said Mr Varadkar had served his community, his party and his country in the highest offices.

“This service has been through often quite difficult times which required the Government and the Oireachtas to respond to rapidly changing events.

“During the past four years, we have served in government together, including the tense and often isolated times during the pandemic.

“I very much appreciate the spirit of open and honest discussion in which we were able to operate.” 

Mr Martin added: “I want to thank you, Leo Varadkar, for your service and I want to wish you, your partner Matt, and your wider family well and I have no doubt that you will continue to be an active voice in our public affairs.”

Micheál Martin said he had a “constructive and positive” discussion with the new Fine Gael leader Simon Harris on the continued operation of Government.

Congratulating Mr Harris, he said Fianna Fáil would support his nomination for appointment as Taoiseach.

“I wish your family the greatest of enjoyment of this moment and this day – because I have no doubt in the immediate aftermath, things might get a bit more challenging and rockier.” 

Mr Martin, himself a former Taoiseach, added: “I wish you well. It’s a special day for you and I look forward to a constructive and effective co-operation in the time ahead.” 

Additionally, he accused Sinn Féin of “attacking the democratic legitimacy” of the nomination of the next Taoiseach.

“(Sinn Fein) has a unique record of privately appointed and replacing leaders without ever holding an internal election let alone a public one.”

11:20am

Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys proposed Simon Harris to become Ireland’s next Taoiseach.

The newly appointed deputy leader of Fine Gael recalled the first time she met Mr Harris in the Dail in 2011 and thinking the “young lad” was on a school tour or work experience.

Moments later she saw him make his first contribution in nominating Enda Kenny as Taoiseach.

“It took me a few weeks to make my maiden speech, he did it on day one, and I think anybody who heard him that day knew from the start he would go far,” she said.

She described Mr Harris as having “endless amounts of energy”, adding he was someone who “cares deeply about improving services for families”.

Ms Humphreys said it was a “great honour” to propose Mr Harris as Taoiseach.

Fine Gael minister of state Peter Burke seconded the nomination of Simon Harris.

He commended his achievements as a government minister, listing Mr Harris’s attributes as: the ability to listen; compassion; an agile mind; the ability to speak without hesitation; and a firm belief in his abilities.

Mr Burke said it was time to get on with the work of government.

He said Mr Harris would lead the coalition with a “renewed energy, with compassion, bringing it right back to the core of politics”.

11:15am

Several opposition parties raised objections to proposed procedures for electing the Taoiseach after Government whip Hildegarde Naughton outlined them to the house.

Sinn Féin’s Padraig Mac Lochlainn reiterated his party’s call for a general election.

“The people should decide on who our next Taoiseach is, not the assembled numbers here in Government,” he said.

“The people should have their say, this should not be happening today, we should have gone to the country. So we do not agree to your schedule.” 

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said it was not acceptable that scheduled Dail business was being replaced with a “jamboree” to elect a new Taoiseach, and Mattie McGrath from the Rural Independents grouping described the process as a “charade”.

Ceann Comhairle Sean Ó Fearghail expressed concern over the tone of some of the interventions and urged TDs to act with “decorum”. He also strongly rejected the characterisation of the Taoiseach’s election as a “jamboree”.

Earlier:

After a whirlwind couple of weeks, Simon Harris is set to be elected Taoiseach in the Dáil

The Dáil is expected to vote for Mr Harris’s nomination this morning, after which he will travel to the president’s residence in north Dublin.

The 37-year-old father of two has been described by Fine Gael colleagues as “energetic”, “a great communicator” and as having a “vision for Ireland that is about equality of opportunity”.

A media-savvy and personable politician who is well-versed on social media sites Instagram and TikTok, he has been at the helm of three departments over an eight-year period.

His visibility during his tenure as justice minister – covering for Helen McEntee while she was on maternity leave – fuelled speculation about his interest in a leadership bid for the so-called “law and order” party.

The former student of journalism at Dublin Institute of Technology has gone from writing headlines to making them.

As a young boy growing up in the seaside town of Greystones in Co Wicklow, he is said to have repeatedly said he wanted to be Taoiseach.

Mr Harris previously said his political story began when his younger brother Adam was diagnosed with autism and he began campaigning for better information and services.

After cutting his political teeth as an assistant to former justice minister Frances Fitzgerald when she was a senator, and then working as a councillor, he was elected to the Dáil as its youngest TD in 2011.

His maiden speech in the Dáil was to nominate Enda Kenny as Taoiseach.

He served as a junior minister in the Department of Finance from 2014 before being propelled to the role of minister for health in the Fine Gael-led minority government that was formed in 2016.

Known as one of the most difficult Irish ministries, Mr Harris faced issues such as the ownership of the National Maternity Hospital, the spiralling cost of the National Children’s Hospital and a controversy around Ireland’s cervical cancer screening programme.

After the Irish public voted to liberalise its abortion laws in a 2018 referendum, Mr Harris was praised by campaigners as a strong voice for the Yes campaign.

In the February 2020 general election, he was returned on the 15th count and remained as a caretaker health minister.

In the first few months of the covid-19 pandemic, he urged people to wear face coverings and adhere to new rules, but was criticised for an absence of planning for nursing homes.

After incorrectly saying during a radio interview that covid-19 meant there were 18 other coronaviruses, he recorded an Instagram live video in which he apologised and said he was an “awful old idiot at times”.

In the three-party coalition government, he became minister at the newly formed Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

As higher education minister, he toured the country opening and speaking at educational institutions, and during his brief stint as justice minister he traversed bogs with families of the Disappeared.

During his inaugural speech as Fine Gael leader at the party’s annual conference last weekend, he told delegates his key priorities were housing, law and order and support for small businesses.

He also addressed recent tensions in Ireland over increased immigration rates, as he pledged to oversee a “fair” but “firm” system to manage migration into the country.

Mr Harris also spoke about his his wife Caoimhe, a nurse, and young children Saoirse and Cillian.

He also used his speech to issue a blunt message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying Ireland was “repulsed” by his actions.

As Taoiseach, he will take Leo Varadkar’s old title as the youngest-ever leader.

Arriving at the Dáil, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he looked forward to working with Simon Harris as Taoiseach, adding that the Government has a lot of work to do over the next 12 months.

“It’s an important day,” he said. 

“I think the Government remains and retains its focus on the Programme for Government and I want to wish Simon Harris the very best, and I look forward to working with him in the aftermath of him being elected Taoiseach today and we’re very focused on the Programme for Government.

“A lot of work to be done over the next 12 months and we’re going to put the people first and work hard for the people over the next 12 months.” His party colleague, education minister Norma Foley, added: “Politics is always in a state of flux and change and the important thing is how we in government speak to that change.

“So today is a historic day. Government will be offering stability and surety and fulfilling the mandate it was given and we’ll see government through right to the end.”

Leo Varadkar has said he is “proud” of his record in office, including welcoming more than 100,000 refugees from Ukraine since the war began.

Mr Varadkar said: “I’ve had the honour of helping to lead Ireland from unemployment to full employment; from budget deficits to budget surplus to a point where we have the resources to invest in public services and public goods in a way we could not in the past.

“Through a pandemic in which we saved lives and livelihoods; through Brexit where we prevented a hard border between North and South to protect our place in Europe.

“We’ve made the country more equal and more modern when it comes to the rights of children, the LGBT community and women; and more recently… inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, the worst of which is now thankfully behind us.”

Leo Varadkar wished Simon Harris well as his successor.

“I want to take this opportunity to wish Minister Harris every success in his new role as Taoiseach,” he said.

“I always knew he would be Taoiseach one day. This has perhaps come a little bit sooner than he might have planned or expected. But I know he will rise to the occasion.

“He has empathy, energy, experience, campaigning skills and political antenna to take us forward and I look forward to voting for him and the new cabinet in the house later today.”